While a deputy in training, he killed a motorcyclist in a crash. Now he's been accused of drunken driving.
A Dakota County sheriff's deputy who was convicted of careless driving after he hit and killed a motorcyclist last year was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving over the weekend.
Joshua J. Williams, 29, was stopped by another Dakota County sheriff's deputy for speeding around 2 a.m. Saturday in Empire Township, said Sheriff Don Gudmundson. He failed the field sobriety test and was booked into the Dakota County jail. He has not been charged yet, but Gudmundson said the case has been forwarded to the county attorney's office.
In August 2007, Williams was a deputy-in-training when he was involved in the crash that killed 58-year-old Billy Wallace. Williams and his training officer, Deputy Daniel Michener, were on their way to a domestic disturbance near Farmington around 7:20 p.m. on Aug. 30, when Williams moved his squad car into the bypass lane on the right side of the road and began to turn left.
Wallace was driving his motorcycle behind Williams and the two collided as the squad car began to turn. The squad car did not have its lights or siren turned on. Wallace died at Regions Hospital in St. Paul a day later.
Williams was convicted this April of misdemeanor careless driving, the only charge filed against him. His license was suspended after the conviction, but Gudmundson said at the time of his arrest this weekend, he had a valid license. He is now on paid administrative leave.
"I am disappointed and not happy about it," Gudmundson said. "On the other hand, I am proud that our deputy [who pulled over Williams] did what was right. It's what I would have expected."
More Information: http://www.twincities.com/allheadlines/ci_11034717
No comments:
Post a Comment